The present invention relates generally to equipment utilized and operations performed in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in an embodiment described herein, more particularly provides improved sand control screen fabrication.
Well screens are used for a variety of purposes, including sand control, proppant exclusion, wellbore support, and other purposes. There is a need for well screens to be finely tuned instruments in performing their functions, while being rugged enough to withstand installation and use in a downhole environment.
Many conventional well screen designs have certain deficiencies which compromise their ability to satisfy these needs. Some designs provide highly accurate filtering functions, but are not sufficiently rugged. Other designs are very rugged, but are not sufficiently accurate.
For example, in one typical well screen design, a filter jacket is constructed and then a base pipe is inserted within the filter jacket, with a clearance existing between the base pipe and the filter jacket. During installation and use, this clearance means that the filter jacket is not adequately supported internally, which leads to damage and inaccurate filtering.
In another typical well screen design, a filter wire is wrapped around a base pipe, with spacer rods positioned between the wire and the base pipe. This manufacturing method produces a relatively rugged well screen, but the wire wrapping process is frequently inaccurate and the base pipe can become distorted during the wrapping process.
Therefore, it may be seen that improvements are needed in the art of well screen fabrication.